Skip Navigation National Human Genome Research InstituteNational Human Genome Research InstituteNational Human Genome Research InstituteNational Institutes of Health
     
Home | About NHGRI | Newsroom | Staff Directory
Research Grants Health Policy & Ethics Educational Resources Careers & Training

Home>Educational Resources Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms

Back to the glossary

Pronounciation of 
genetic marker

defined:

A segment of DNA with an identifiable physical location on a chromosome and whose inheritance can be followed. A marker can be a gene, or it can be some section of DNA with no known function. Because DNA segments that lie near each other on a chromosome tend to be inherited together, markers are often used as indirect ways of tracking the inheritance pattern of a gene that has not yet been identified, but whose approximate location is known.

explained:

Listen to a detailed explanation.

Dr. Robert Nussbaum, of the National Human Genome Research Institute's Laboratory of Genetic Disease Research, defines genetic marker.

related
terms:

chromosome, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), gene, inherited



[ Send this term to a friend ] [ Suggest a term for the glossary ]






See Also:

Spanish Talking Glossary

Fact Sheets

All About the Human Genome Project



PrivacyContactAccessibilitySite IndexStaff DirectoryHome Government LinksDepartment of Health and Human ServicesFirstGovNational Institutes of Health